All you need to know as citizens evacuated from Ebola hotspots in Congo after WHO declares health emergency
Need to know
At least six Americans are believed to have been exposed to the deadly Ebola virus in the DR Congo, according to the CDC, with officials now scrambling to pull their citizens out of outbreak zones as the WHO declares a global public health emergency
90 people are believed to have died already from the outbreak(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Need to know: deadly ebola outbreak as americans evacuated from africa
- Foreigners are being evacuated from east and central Africa as a deadly new strain of Ebola spreads rapidly across Congo and Uganda.
- At least six Americans have been exposed to the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with one showing symptoms. US officials are scrambling to evacuate citizens, with some potentially flown to Germany for treatment.
- The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency. WHO warned the crisis could be “a much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported.”
- Nearly 90 people are feared dead with over 330 suspected infections in eastern Congo. Two confirmed cases, including one death, have been detected in neighbouring Uganda.
- The rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is causing the outbreak – one of the deadliest forms with no approved vaccines or treatments. Experts say it can kill up to half of those infected.
- The outbreak began in April in Congo’s Ituri province, hitting gold-mining towns. One case has now reached capital Kinshasa, home to 17 million people, sparking fears of wider spread.
- WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of “significant uncertainties” around true infection numbers and virus spread.
- READ THE FULL STORY: Foreigners evacuated from Ebola hotspot as fears of wider outbreak grow
